Nepenthe was published at MIT and focused on poetry. The first issue appeared in December 1940 and carries a dedication that reads: "This / the first issue of Nepenthe / is for Trudy— / who / if we are not / mistaken / was at the Chicon." "Trudy" was Trudy Kuslan, co-editor of The Nucleus, who attended the Chicon along with Singleton and with whom she had a brief romantic relationship.